


Colour

by Piscaria



Category: Transformers (Bayverse)
Genre: Ficlet, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Slash, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-26
Updated: 2009-11-26
Packaged: 2017-10-03 19:52:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piscaria/pseuds/Piscaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>He'd learned that the rules governing human friendships differed drastically between males and females, and Bumblebee tried to accommodate both his friends.</i></p><p>Bumblebee and Mikaela go shopping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Colour

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little ficlet I wrote in the car this evening in response to prompt #36, colour, from the [](http://community.livejournal.com/50ficlets/profile)[**50ficlets**](http://community.livejournal.com/50ficlets/) challenge.

Bumblebee's holoform sprawled on the bench outside the woman's dressing room, while Bumblebee himself simultaneously scanned for Decepticons in the parking garage, poured through the contents of the fashion magazines Mikaela had let him scan, monitored Sam's vitals through the wristwatch he'd insisted the human boy wear whenever he was outside of Bumblebee's sensor range, and tried to determine the best way to phrase the subject he needed to broach with Mikaela later. The holoform's rudimentary scanners detected Mikaela's presence a few seconds before she emerged from the dressing room, wearing a shirt almost identical to the last one she'd modeled for him.

"What do you think?" she asked Bumblebee, twirling around.

He studied her, cross-referencing the image of the shirt with the information he'd gleaned from her fashion magazines in order to choose an appropriate response.

"The color brings out your eyes," he said at last, and she beamed at him before disappearing back into the dressing room.

Bumblebee slouched against the wall, beginning to understand why Sam had found shopping trips with Mikaela so tedious. He'd been sitting outside the dressing room for nearly three breems while she decided on just the right shirt to wear to the lake party on Saturday. If Bumblebee were human, he'd be going mad with boredom. Yet Mikaela was just as much his friend as Sam was, and Bumblebee knew that, as a friend, part of his job was to help her decide on appropriate clothing for social occasions.

He'd learned that the rules governing human friendships differed drastically between males and females, and Bumblebee tried to accommodate both his friends. From his research, he knew that the question he wanted to pose to Mikaela could be seen as a grave betrayal if he didn't handle it correctly. Bumblebee waited until they were in the food court before he broached the subject.

"Mikaela," he said, "I wanted to ask you about Sam."

Her gaze darkened at the mention of her ex. "What about him?" she asked.

"You broke off your relationship with Sam 9.7 months ago," Bumblebee began. "Since then, you have mated with two other human males."

"So?" Mikaela snapped. Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Too late, Bumblebee realized his mistake – she thought he was accusing her of promiscuity.

"I meant no offense towards you," Bumblebee hastened to explain. "I merely wished to ascertain whether your . . . " he searched for the right word . . . "_relations_ with others meant that you've relinquished your claim on Sam."

The defensiveness in Mikaela's posture didn't ease entirely, but her voice sounded friendlier as she asked, "Why?"

Bee hesitated, knowing he was seconds away from breaking one of the biggest rules governing friendship with human females. "Would you be upset if one of your friends propositioned him?" he asked at last.

"What?!" Anger flashed in Mikaela's eyes, and she leaned across the table. "Who?"

Searching his linguistic databases for the proper words to explain, Bumblebee noticed that his hologram's imaging systems had reacted to his embarrassment by suffusing his simulated cheeks and neck with color. The annoying sub-routine had been utterly impervious to Bumblebee's earlier attempts to disable it, and Bumblebee added it to his list of subjects to discuss with Ratchet the next time he met the mechanic for routine maintenance. For now, he tried to ignore the problem – a difficult task, considering that his cheeks had grown even redder as Mikaela watched him, waiting for an explanation.

Inexplicably, the anger in Mikaela's face faded, and she started to laugh. "Bee," she said, patting his arm. "Oh, Bee."

"I fail to discern the reason for your amusement," Bumblebee said, slightly affronted.

She shook her head, still giggling. "You've got it bad for him, don't you?"

It took a fraction of a second for him to look up the idiom. "Yes," he admitted, annoyed when his blush grew even deeper.

Grinning, Mikaela leaned across the table and enveloped him in a quick hug. "He's all yours, Bee," she said. "I hope you're happier with him than I was."

Bumblebee remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Mikaela leaned back, her lips pursed thoughtfully. "Are you using your hologram to ask him out?"

"I suppose so," Bumblebee said. In truth, he hadn't determined the best way to approach Sam.

"And you're wearing _that_?"

Bumblebee considered his simulated clothing, wondering what she found so objectionable about it. He'd modeled it after the clothing Sam often wore – faded jeans, sneakers, and a hooded yellow sweatshirt with a black stripe around the chest. Now, he wondered if he'd chosen incorrectly.

"What would you suggest?" he asked.

Mikaela grinned, and pushed away from the table, a familiar gleam in her eye. "We've got a lot of work to do, Bee," she said, gathering up her purse and shopping bags.

"More shopping?" Bumblebee asked warily, even as he reached to help her carry her purchases.

"Tons more," she said, catching Bumblebee's arm and steering him back into the mall. "Sam isn't going to know what hit him. To start with, I think we need to try a different color on you. I know you like yellow, but with your eyes, you really ought to try something blue . . ."

Finis.


End file.
